Giants’ wide receiver competition: Stock up, stock down

The New York Giants have Sterling Shepard, Golden Tate and Darius Slayton as a quality Big Three at the wide receiver spot, even if none is considered a pure No. 1 receiver.

Corey Coleman, recovered from a torn ACL that cost him the 2020 season, seems more and more locked in as the fourth receiver. He has been getting open regularly, twice for long completions on Monday, and catching the ball consistently. He also has kickoff and punt return ability.

Let’s handicap the rest of the young players who are competing for the remaining couple of wide receiver roster spots. Here is one man’s take on who is rising and falling in that competition.

On the rise

David Sills V — The 6-foot-3, 211-pound Sills spent last season on the Giants’ practice squad. During camp he keeps showing up ... and showing up ... and showing up. He has tormented cornerback Grant Haley on a daily basis, and is impressing his coaches and his quarterback.

“David Sills has done a really good job. He’s a really smart guy, he’s working hard. He’ll go in there and play all of the positions,” said wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert. “I told you guys the other day, he’s a rep stealer. He has his reps, he’s going to go in and run his reps, then he’ll steal some other reps. If he sees guys running down the field, he’ll jump in there and say ‘I got them, I got them.’ I like that about him. He jumps in there, doesn’t matter what position it is. He goes in there and plays and executes his assignments.”

Head coach Joe Judge has noticed.

“He’s shown up a lot for us already on offense. He shows up in the kicking game,” Judge said. “I’m very pleased with how David comes out every day and works. It’s no surprise he’s making plays and being productive.”

So, too, has his quarterback:

“I think he’s a guy out there you can trust, and a guy who’s in the right spot a lot of the time and can get open and make plays,” Daniel Jones said.

Alex Bachman — He’s more slightly built at 6-foot, 190 pounds than most of the players he is competing with. He is probably primarily a slot receiver on a team that already has Sterling Shepard and Golden Tate, two of the best slot receivers in the NFL. The young man, though, has been open and has made plays consistently throughout the first two weeks of training camp.

“Bachman, again, very much like David, he’s a guy that comes to work every day and works hard,” Judge said. “He’s productive in drills, he’s productive in team periods. It’s no surprise to see him making plays.”

Tolbert said Bachman is earning a closer look.

“He’s very knowledgeable, he’s adjusted well to the competition we’re going against. We’re going to have to see him more going against really good on good. What I mean by that is really going against the one’s and going against man coverage and everything to see how much improvement he can make with that,” he said. “The more he goes out there and makes plays, the more opportunity he’ll get.”

Austin Mack — After the Giants signed Mack out of Ohio State as an undrafted free agent, this is what Gene Ross of SB Nation’s Ohio State website, Land Grant Holy Land, told Big Blue View:

“Mack isn’t going to kill anyone with his speed, and while he has good size at 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, that isn’t going to wow people either. However, what he does have is an incredibly reliable set of hands. Even in his limited playing time, Mack caught just about everything thrown his way, whether it be an over the shoulder ball in the corner of the end zone or a high-point grab over a defensive back. If the ball is put in his vicinity, Mack is more than likely going to come down with it. He also possesses great strength and body control to win those 50/50 balls.”

This is what we have seen thus far. Mack catches what is thrown to him, appears to run solid routes and has a body type that is different than the Giants’ established receivers.

“The thing with Austin Mack is his knowledge,” Tolbert said. “Austin Mack’s a super smart guy. He can play any position. He’s a tough guy, he’s a physical guy, he’s very dependable. That’s the thing that stands out with him to me.”

C.J. Board — The Giants claimed Board off waivers from the Jacksonville Jaguars on Aug. 13. Board, 26, played in four games with two receptions for the Jaguars last season. He’s 6-foot-1, 181 pounds and has 4.47 40-yard dash speed. He has made some excellent contested catches thus far.

“Well, I think the thing with C.J. is immediately his feet. He has speed. He really has speed off the ball, he’s really fast, sudden out of his breaks,” Tolbert said. “He has a little bit of experience in the league too.”

Holding steady

Binjimen Victor — At 6-foot-4, 199 pounds Victor is a long, lean target for a quarterback. Victor hasn’t flashed in the way that Sills, Bachman and Mack have, but he hasn’t hurt himself, either. At least, that’s the impression I’ve gotten on the days I have seen him. There is still time for him to win a job.

Going down

Derrick Dillon — His reported 4.28 40-yard dash speed is exciting, but the former LSU receiver has had too many drops and hasn’t made enough plays thus far. Mack, Sills, Bachman and even Victor are showing up more often. He can run, but it would appear that Dillon needs to pick up the pace.

Tony Brown — The Giants claimed the undrafted free agent rookie off waivers from the Cleveland Browns on Aug. 1. To my eyes, he hasn’t shown much yet.